Dear Readers,

Over the years you have heard me woof about #agility. About how I love the training as it stimulates me physically and mentally. It is a fun sport, but requires some thinking and intuitive and on-the-spot decision making. Especially where I am concerned.

Let me tell you more: Agility training is done is a huge arena with all kinds of colorful and inviting obstacles. They include jumps, tunnels, weave poles, the dog walk, the A-frame, the tire, the teeter, and the paws table!

Momma and I have been training now for about six years, both in Minnesota and Florida. “Running the course” takes some skill by both (probably mostly) handler and doggie. This will explain why, from almost the very beginning, Momma would “beg” the trainer to be my handler. In other woofs, she could tell she would have a lot to learn, and had her own “obstacles” to overcome.

But, alas, trainers in both states said no, and Momma had to learn to lead me through the courses all on her own. Sometimes it works better than others. Let me give you a snapshot of a typical day at Agile Canines Training School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, the school run by our Minnesota trainer, Annelise Allan.

Momma and I usually arrive early for our class, which is intermediate level and includes three or four or five other owners and their dogs. Or should I woof owners and their masters, which from what I can see is more the case. [Smiling and doggie emojis.] This is so we are not rushed and I have a chance to go both potties. I can tell that Momma lives in fear that I might have to go in the arena thus adding to the stress I can tell she is already under.

After all the doggies are placed into crates outside of the arena, the handlers join Annelise for a walk through of our first course for the day. It has a lot of obstacles (usually between 14 and 20), and it is not numbered. Sometimes when Momma is in a jocular mood I can hear her ask Annelise where the numbers are. [Scattered chuckles.] Momma is only half kidding.

Momma quickly sizes up the course situation to see how comfortable we might be with the obstacles, and more importantly, the height at which the bars are placed for jumps. I am the only dog who jumps at 8″ in our class, so Momma is always relieved when they are initially set higher for bigger dogs. This means we won’t go first, and will give Momma more time to learn.

Anyway, back to class. After Annelise explains the course, the handlers start at the beginning and walk it, practicing various options for successfully guiding us through it. Momma usually makes sure she is following the group so she knows where to go next and can copy some other handler moves. One area that is problematic for Momma is the crosses handlers use to turn us in the right direction. She has finally picked up on the front and blind crosses, but the rear one still eludes her. And I think she’s still wondering if there might be a double. And as you might guess, I therefore often have to adjust on the run and make my own decisions about where to go next. But the good news? Every time Momma makes a mistake, I get a “screw up” cookie. And guess who gets the most screw up cookies of all? Just woofin’.

So, Momma and I muddle through, sometimes we even have a doggone good run and I go like lightning! And then all the other handlers cheer for me as if I’d just won a national championship. (I think they have a soft spot in their heart for the little Aussie to be honest.) And it’s all good, especially when Annelise yells at Momma to give me “lots of cookies!!!” at the end of a run.

So just in case you were curious, that’s what we do! And so you know, Momma and I used to do trials, but decided for a number of reasons we weren’t competition material (for example I puked in the crate once waiting for a run, and we both hated hanging around all day, me in the crate, Momma fretting). Anyway, here is what a typical course looks like on paper. This is from a competition in 2021, and you can see Momma’s plan of attack for one of our runs. I see that Momma has scribbled X? (front? blind? rear?) a couple of times — which means I better be ready for anything.

I have attached a video of one of my best runs so you can see how the obstacles actually look in the arena.

So even though I’ve hung up my competition leash, I still have fun as one of the dogs still in the arena.

Lina, Still diggin’ it!

Woofda!